


Rey's Home of the Feline Nuisance

by reinasolo



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: A. He's grumpy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Always D, B. It's the cats, Beebee-Ate gets gender neutral pronouns, C. Its inbetween, Cats, D. All of the above, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Is Ben generally grumpy or is it the cats?, Modern day Star Wars references, or E for explicit grumpiness, this is not a dramatization its cats
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-04-26 13:32:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14403168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reinasolo/pseuds/reinasolo
Summary: —as titled by Ben Solo.





	Rey's Home of the Feline Nuisance

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. This is based on my own experiences with cats
> 
> 2\. If you didn't know, Luke Skywalker was originally named Luke Starkiller
> 
> 3\. Many thanks to my beta [flightlessxbird](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flightlessxbird)
> 
> 4\. I hope this at least makes you smile

One time Ben shut the door on Beebee. The door slammed, loudly, in front of Beebee after telling it to leave him alone. Could Ben really be blamed? Who wanted to be in the shower when your cat was hanging out in the bathroom?

When Ben came out twenty minutes later, Beebee was laying in front of the door without a bother in the world. That was Beebee though, always happy. Nothing fazed Beebee. It never failed to annoy Ben.

"Were you waiting for me?"

Beebee answered by rolling over.

"Why are you happy all the time? You're a cat," Ben groaned, "Isn't your kind supposed to be cold and unfeeling?"

"You're trying to have conversation with a cat, _Ben_ ," He chided himself.

Beebee picked itself off the floor and with a purr brushed against Ben's leg.

"Come on! I just got clean!"

* * *

It's only the third day since Rey brought Hux home and Ben is already fed up. Hux was a piece of work who came with special needs, and because of that he'd constantly been passed up for adoption. There was a chance he'd have to be put down and that was enough for Rey to say yes to take him.

"Ben, it's not a big deal," Rey tells him.

"Why does _Sir Hux,"_ he scoffs, "need organic cat food?"

"The Humane Society said that's the kind of food Hux was raised on. They highly advised me not to change it up. Hux probably wouldn't respond to regular food now." It's not a problem for Rey. Rey is just grateful enough that she's made it to a point in her life where she can afford to pay for the extra needs for her cats. That and being a loyalty member with Pet Supplies Plus, she gets the Members Only discount price every time.

Hux gets organic food, organic treats, and he gets his own food and water bowl set, plus placemat. Actually you don't want to get Ben started on the placemat. Rey had found a seller on Etsy who makes custom placemats. She spent over a half hour pondering on what design, color, font, and extras she wanted on it. Over. A. Half. Hour.

"Why can't we just get Fancy Feast?" Ben keeps pushing.

Rey looked offended at the suggestion. She fixed him with a stare that says "how dare you?!"

"I don't even buy Fancy Feast for Beebee, Sabé, and Hera!"

Fancy Feast? Please.

* * *

Sabé was the easiest of all Rey's cats. Ben held a particular level of toleration for her. Because Sabé has the look, control, and patience of a Queen. She doesn't get in the way and doesn't need special treatment; she accepts what's given to her with grace. She'd even give up her own food and toys to make sure the others get enough. That of course means she has nothing in common with Hux. But then again, who does?

But Sabé does share a mutual interest with Ben over being protective of Rey.

Don't tell that to Rey though. Ben has heard enough times that Rey can take care of herself. But he's a Solo and history has proven that Solo's have never been good at doing what they're told. Sabé gets away with it because she's a cat.

Ben doesn't know how Sabé does it, going from a complete state of calm to springing into action without a moment’s notice. When Rey cut her finger chopping vegetables, Sabé ran to the scene and jumped up on the kitchen counter without missing a beat. She crouched down in front of Rey and rested her head on Rey's hand in a comforting gesture. It made Ben want to do the same thing.

"Rey... if you ever wanted to get rid Beebee, Hera, Hux, and keep Sabé, I'd never complain about any cat again."

That's a lie.

He knows it, Rey knows it, and even Sabé too.

But it was worth a shot.

* * *

Ben is standing in the shadows of the hallway, skulking, and listening to Rey's phone conversation with Poe.

"—honestly Poe, we go through this every time. It's okay."

"—yes I'll use the spare key you gave me to get that extra litter,"

"—stop worrying, Beebe knows you love them,"

"—you too. Stay safe up there. Bye."

Poe is Ben and Rey's neighbor down the hall. He worked as an airline pilot who spent more time in the air than at his apartment. Rey and Poe got along instantly when they first met, almost like they were old friends. Beebee would come over for cat play dates—because yes, that's actually a real thing.

Then it turned into a “Hey neighbor, Beebee adores you, probably even more than me. Can you watch him while I’m away?”, which ended up becoming a regular occurrence. It was almost as if Rey and Poe were parents with shared custody.

Ben thinks Poe is irresponsible and neglectful. He'd like to get on the phone and have a few words with him.

Ben let his presence be known to Rey without a warning, "What's his excuse this time?"

Rey jumped and put her hand over her chest. "Ben! You scared me!"

"That was Poe. He's not coming home?"

"No. There's a weather delay that's going to keep him there overnight."

"He won't be back for Beebee's vet appointment."

"No," Rey deadpanned. She really did not want to have this discussion right now.

Now Ben was mad. "It's his turn to take Beebee."

"And you want him to what? Fly home in dangerous weather and risk dozens of passengers lives because it's his turn to take Beebee to the vet?"

Obviously, _no_. Ben knew he was being irrational, but he couldn't help it. Poe had done this before.

"It's not fair to you," Ben said.

"Only difference is, I don't mind, but if you feel that strongly about me having to do it, maybe I'll ask Finn. Or better yet, you can do it." Rey smiled.

The groan that follows could probably be heard throughout the whole building.

* * *

Rey and Ben are curled up next to each on the couch watching a movie. Beebee is laying on the seat next to Rey, Sabé is perched on the top back of the couch, Hera is challenging a catnip chaser, and Hux... well, Hux was probably in another room thinking he's too good to join in the with the rest.

“I agree, Starkiller turning on this nephew was out of character, especially after what he did to bring Darth Vader back to the light, but that’s just a flaw. I think people don’t realize that the actual character change came when he ran away.” Rey spoke about this rather passionately.

“But if it was so easy for him to realize what he’d done, why didn’t he stick around and try to make things better? He ran away from the problem.”

“It’s his punishment,” Rey supplies. “What could be worse than running away from everything you know and isolating yourself?”

“I never saw it like that before.”

Sabé purrs, Hera yips, and Beebee crawls over Rey to put their paw on Ben’s thigh, all in assent.

“I don’t need you agreeing with me!”

* * *

Hera had an abundance of energy. She was only ever content with laying around when she needed to get some sleep. She was always playing, chasing, and scratching something. You could never get a minute alone with Hera. When she decided she wanted to play with Ben or Rey, she’d get in their way until they gave in.  

Now Hera was missing.

And Ben was panicking.

Rey would probably think Ben did it on purpose.

He called Rey at work and told her supervisor that it was an emergency. Did missing cat qualify as an emergency? Google said that it was in the nature of a cat to want to get away, especially when it came to an outside cat like Hera, but not to worry, they would always find their way back. Ben isn’t sure if he can count on that right now.

“I thought I could bring in all the groceries at once,” He’s explaining to Rey over the phone. “but a couple of bags slipped. I went inside with what I had and didn’t shut the door. I was quick getting everything in. I swear!”

He hears Rey take a deep breath.

“Ben, Hera is a smart cat. She wouldn’t run away like _that_.”

“The door was open, maybe she saw an opportunity!”

“Did you check the cat beds?”

“Yes, she’s not there.”

“Napping on the dryer?”

“No.”

“Windowsill behind the curtains? Under the bed? On top of the fridge?”

“No. No. And no! I checked all the usual spots.”

“Check them again!” Without thinking Ben ended the call and took off.

When he made a full circle back to kitchen, that’s when he saw Hera sitting on top the fridge. She was practically grinning.

“ _You!_ ” Ben said in a chastising tone. “I just looked up there!”

Hera made a noise that sounded a lot like “yeah”.

“How’d you do that? What kind of tricks are you up to?”

Cat tricks.

Why couldn’t Rey like dogs instead?

* * *

Rey brought home another one.

Its name is Kylo.

Where to start with that one? Who would willingly name someone Kylo?

Kylo is a black cat with yellow eyes who has testy moods and broods a lot. Kylo has a particular fondness for Rey though. You’d think that means Ben and Kylo would have something in common, but if Kylo had his way, Ben would never be around.

When Ben kisses Rey, Kylo snarls. Kylo gets up in bed with them at night and puts himself up right next to Rey. If Kylo perceives something Ben has said to Rey as threatening (which Ben never has, it’s just Kylo looking for a reason) Kylo will go on the attack. Ben has scratches to prove it.

After seeing Kylo and Hux get into a fight, Kylo decides the scratches were worth it. Because Kylo took Hux down and Hux stayed _down_. It’s inherently satisfying.

Ben likes one cat.

 


End file.
